1. Technical Field
The present invention pertains to a temperature control system for installation within cabinets to control temperature within those cabinets. In particular, the present invention pertains to a temperature control system for installation within cabinets of ambulances or other medical vehicles to maintain cabinet interiors at appropriate temperatures for storing drugs and/or intravenous (i.e., I.V.) solution.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ambulances and other medical vehicles typically include cabinets to store medical items, such as drugs or intravenous (I.V.) solution, for use by medical personnel. Generally, drugs and I.V. solution are required to be maintained at specific temperatures. In particular, I.V. solution, typically contained within I.V. bags, needs to be maintained at approximately body temperature in order to avoid thermal shock and injury to a patient. Similarly, certain drugs are required to be maintained at particular temperatures in order to lengthen their active life and/or be safely administered to patients. However, existing cabinets utilized in ambulance and other medical vehicles typically do not provide a temperature controlled environment, but rather merely store medical items. Thus, drugs or I.V. solutions that are initially thermally treated to have temperatures within their appropriate utilization temperature range may quickly attain temperatures outside that range when stored in cabinets lacking temperature control capability, thereby risking injury to the patient.
Although temperature controlled cabinets may exist in other contexts, those cabinets typically require A.C. (i.e., alternating current) voltage to maintain the cabinet interior at a desired temperature and are not suited for use within ambulances or other medical vehicles since only D.C. (i.e., direct current) voltage is available in these vehicles. Further, there is no provision for incorporating temperature control capability into cabinets previously disposed in ambulances and other medical vehicles. Thus, there exists a need in the art for a temperature control system for installation within ambulance and other medical vehicle cabinets to maintain medical items, such as drugs and I.V. solution, at appropriate temperatures to avoid injury when the medical items are administered to a patient. In addition, there exists a need in the art for the temperature control system to utilize D.C. voltage in order to be compatible with vehicle electrical systems.